CB: Are you competitive in sports?
JD: Very!
CB: I figured.
JD: Very, very, very.
CB: Do you watch any other TV shows?
JD: Let's see, what am I watching. I just bought 21 Jump Street...
CB: Niiiiiice!
JD: ...because I wanted to check out Johnny Depp, and I'm so excited. Also Family Guy, and I just bought Wonderfalls, because I heard it's good, and our Director of Photography for the first season did Wonderfalls. I also saw the first season of Deadwood. So good.
CB: You started to mention this earlier, but what are your favorite movies?
JD: Oh, boy. You know, I almost...don't really watch movies for pleasure. It's more that there are just actors that I like, whatever they're in. Gary Oldman's awesome, anything that Jack Nicholson does I think is great...and all for different reasons. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is just awesome. Such a good movie...I don't know, I'm looking at my shelf, I've got them all in alphabetical order...State Of Grace, I love. I thought Frida was rad -- I think Alfred Molina's one of the best living actors right now. East Of Eden's rad. I loved Kids; that had some of the best acting I've ever seen in my life.
CB: So you're a fan of James Dean as well?
JD: Oh, yeah. A lot of his plays that he did, too -- I really get into those.
CB: Now if someone were to look at your picture, they'd probably see someone who looks pretty young and not especially dark. But in truth, Logan is possibly one of the less fucked-up characters you've played, given that you were a guy sleeping with his sister on an episode of Judging Amy, and a soldier who was a victim of sexual abuse on an episode of Cold Case. Now you're going to be playing Timothy McVeigh in the upcoming Dreamland. Why do you think you've been cast in so many sort of...unsettling roles?
JD: You know, I don't know...I always used to play the good guy. Like if you look at stuff I did when I was twelve or whatever, it was boy--door stuff -- nice things. Then I was in class one day and I worked on a piece called Does A Tiger Wear A Necktie?, written by Don Peterson -- I think Pacino won a Tony for it on Broadway? ["The Internet Broadway Database confirms that." -- CB] And it's just this crazy-assed guy named Bickham, and it's just the darkest fucking part...I don't know. Once I worked on just one monologue from that, I had a whole other range in my acting, and I started getting all these other roles. I actually did that part for Veronica Mars, and toned it down a little bit, and I got Logan. Maybe it was my interpretation -- I played him as having fun. They kept pushing me for that -- they were like, "Have fun with it! Have fun with it!"
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CB: You mentioned your wife, Lauren. You've been married since about 2004, much to the chagrin of some of the forum posters. Tell me a little about her. JD: She's so cool! She's about 5'1", a [laughs] small person. I don't know, man -- we're just really good friends. She's actually a painter, and she's very good. I don't even have to PR her, because her work is just so good. It speaks for itself. CB: How did you two meet? JD: In school, actually, at Delphi Academy. We were friends for about two years before we actually started dating, and we got married five years to the day after that. CB: Now, you have a reputation for being pretty serious about the craft of acting. JD: Dude, yeah. CB: How do people get that impression? What is it that you're giving off? JD: Dude, I don't know. There's a running joke -- as soon as I hear "Cut!" the first thing out of my mouth is "Fuck!" "Print it!" "FUCK!" It's just like -- I don't know, man. What I was happiest with -- the work on Veronica Mars that I liked best -- was the pilot. I don't know, just, like, the little tiny moments, like driving up in the car, and Veronica didn't look at me, and I'm like, "Hey! Hey!" and she looked at me, and my attention was totally on her. I was just so there -- I felt quite secure at that time that everything out of my mouth would have been character-driven, in a way. A couple of things I did were embellishments of what was in the script. CB: You felt really in the moment. JD: Yeah. It was so freeing. It was wonderful. CB: So you'd describe yourself as pretty serious on set. JD: Yeah, I'd probably say so. It works as an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. It's good to be attentive and always looking for more stuff, but then you can get overly serious where you don't let things flow freely. CB: What do you do to keep improving as an actor? JD: I just try keeping an eye open for new stuff, listening, watching movies. A lot of movies, you can see all the clichés that people talk about, but then you watch a fucking Brando movie or you watch Montgomery Clift, these guys were so attentive to moments that you see in everyday life with dialogue, you see what they act and then you think of what that would have been on the page, and you go, "How did he get that?" Clift, especially, broke up speech in different rhythms, and you see that in life, man! People don't complete a thought so often, and it's awesome! I love that stuff. It's really exciting to me. So you can learn from that.
CB: Being a fan of Brando, are you a fan of the Method, then? JD: I wouldn't say so, because I don't use past memories in the present to create feelings, but you can know what something's like, and create it in the present, you know, without kind of going back there. I think over time-- I know that good acting can be done through the Method -- I think Sean Penn is un-fucking-believable. But I don't know how great of shape he's in as a person now, and Brando was sort of the same way. CB: Speaking of which, being so serious about acting, do you ever find it tough to sort of "leave it on the lot" and just go home and be yourself? JD: Not really. I mean, sometimes I'm just going, "Fuck, man, I'm so pissed off, that I didn't...get a moment that I wanted or I was looking for more stuff," and what's the worst is when you just didn't work hard enough, and then you just know, you're like, "I'm such an asshole that I didn't...another hour I could have spent on that, and I would have had great work." I don't want to get lazy -- it just pisses me off. CB: So you spend a lot of time preparing your scenes. JD: Yeah. But it's fun, dude, because the little things that you guys see -- I love that! That's why I act. You're limited only by the words on the page. You have to say those words, but whatever way you say them, whatever subtext, what's really going on, the feelings underneath -- you have room to express them, and that's what I really love about Logan's character; there are so many different emotions. CB: What activities do you enjoy outside of acting? JD: I'm a big sports guy -- golf, tennis, baseball, basketball, snowboarding -- and I love games. But even in acting, dude, when you're sitting there in a scene with someone, you can just fuck with that person in a great way, just make sure they're looking at you and have fucking fun with them, give them different things, and you're really there, you know? It's just beautiful. But I grew up with sports -- volleyball's another one -- and I just love them. You can forget about everything else. CB: Are you competitive in sports? JD: Very! CB: I figured. JD: Very, very, very. CB: Do you watch any other TV shows? JD: Let's see, what am I watching. I just bought 21 Jump Street... CB: Niiiiiice! JD: ...because I wanted to check out Johnny Depp, and I'm so excited. Also Family Guy, and I just bought Wonderfalls, because I heard it's good, and our Director of Photography for the first season did Wonderfalls. I also saw the first season of Deadwood. So good.
CB: You started to mention this earlier, but what are your favorite movies? JD: Oh, boy. You know, I almost...don't really watch movies for pleasure. It's more that there are just actors that I like, whatever they're in. Gary Oldman's awesome, anything that Jack Nicholson does I think is great...and all for different reasons. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is just awesome. Such a good movie...I don't know, I'm looking at my shelf, I've got them all in alphabetical order...State Of Grace, I love. I thought Frida was rad -- I think Alfred Molina's one of the best living actors right now. East Of Eden's rad. I loved Kids; that had some of the best acting I've ever seen in my life. CB: So you're a fan of James Dean as well? JD: Oh, yeah. A lot of his plays that he did, too -- I really get into those. CB: Now if someone were to look at your picture, they'd probably see someone who looks pretty young and not especially dark. But in truth, Logan is possibly one of the less fucked-up characters you've played, given that you were a guy sleeping with his sister on an episode of Judging Amy, and a soldier who was a victim of sexual abuse on an episode of Cold Case. Now you're going to be playing Timothy McVeigh in the upcoming Dreamland. Why do you think you've been cast in so many sort of...unsettling roles? JD: You know, I don't know...I always used to play the good guy. Like if you look at stuff I did when I was twelve or whatever, it was boy--door stuff -- nice things. Then I was in class one day and I worked on a piece called Does A Tiger Wear A Necktie?, written by Don Peterson -- I think Pacino won a Tony for it on Broadway? ["The Internet Broadway Database confirms that." -- CB] And it's just this crazy-assed guy named Bickham, and it's just the darkest fucking part...I don't know. Once I worked on just one monologue from that, I had a whole other range in my acting, and I started getting all these other roles. I actually did that part for Veronica Mars, and toned it down a little bit, and I got Logan. Maybe it was my interpretation -- I played him as having fun. They kept pushing me for that -- they were like, "Have fun with it! Have fun with it!" CB: Would you say you're drawn to dark parts now?
JD: I guess so, man, because I don't know what to do if it's just a straightforward role. Those are my hardest scenes -- when Rob was directing the episode he did ["the upcoming 'Donut Run'" -- CB] there were a couple scenes I didn't know what to do, because they were so straightforward -- I don't know if it's a fault or not, but on every line, I'm looking for something to do. I think that's what makes a better actor -- who can make the most cool-looking shit. CB: Sure. You want to give the director and the editors as many choices -- as many good choices to work with as possible. JD: Yeah, exactly. And, I mean, it's art, too. What's enough, what's too much -- you can get too crazy, or too busy, which I think I've done, like some of that gesturing and stuff like that. It can be distracting. CB: Yeah, I think one of the few criticisms of your acting I've seen is that sometimes the hands go a little crazy. Is that your interpretation of Logan, or is it just trying to do so much as an actor? JD: Yeah, exactly. I think it's been [laughs] both. CB: A little more on the dark-type roles: obviously one reason you like them is that they're more interesting to you as an actor. But they must bring out so much more raw emotion in you; is that part of the process you enjoy? JD: I guess so. I like to feel that something's alive in acting, like something's really going on. CB: But do you ever finish up a tough scene and think to yourself, "Wow, that was really unpleasant!" That is, regardless of how you feel you did in your performance, are the emotions you have to bring up to achieve it sometimes a bad experience? JD: Well, it can kind of wear you out. But it never sticks with me, I guess -- I never feel like I want to go do something terrible. But it's like -- when we did the tie-up scene, we shot that from a lot of different angles -- it was tough. But whatever -- it's part of the job. CB: One more thing about the McVeigh role -- it must not be the most pleasant idea to be playing such a notorious figure. Are you taking any special steps to prepare for the role? JD: Well, they're still trying to put financing together for it, so it's not a total done deal yet. But there are definitely things to know about him: he was on crystal meth and he got very thin, and he carried his body in a weird way. Those are things I'll work on when the time comes.
CB: Are you at all intimidated by the thought of being identified with someone with such a bad reputation? JD: I guess it's crossed my mind pretty recently. I don't know what you do -- you have a lot of actors these days playing tough roles...I don't know. You know the movie Hostel that just came out? It's crazy, right? I talked to the director of that, and he said it was kind of hard to make and they had to cut some things and couldn't say certain names, because that stuff really goes on. Something like that would be hard to be in too. I don't know. CB: Moving on to the show, how did you hear about it? I assume your agent called you and told you about the audition. JD: That's right. CB: And how was it pitched to you? The reason I ask is that one thing I talked about with Rob last year, and this I think was especially true in the beginning, was that the short description of the show, "teen girl PI in training," sounds kind of stupid. JD: Totally. But I didn't really think about that at the time. I'm sure you know that I originally auditioned for the part of Duncan. I went in there, prepared for a little while on that one, and just...I'd love to see my tape on that. [We both laugh.] Whatever -- it came off a little darker than I thought it would -- maybe that's why they said, "Why don't you read for this other one." CB: Did they tell you anything about Duncan's character before you went in, or was it just going in and taking a look at the sides? JD: Well, I read the breakdown ["a detailed listing of roles available for casting in a particular production" -- CB] and then I went in and Mark Piznarski, who directed the pilot, and Rob were there, and I read, and then they wanted me to read for Logan, and I was like, "Fuck, I spent so much time on this other one!" CB: So at the time, would you have preferred being cast as Duncan rather than Logan? JD: No way. It's funny -- I always get these characters that I'm so afraid of -- I so feel like I can't...I'm like, this is not me. With Logan, I thought, "Why me? I'm a nice guy." I get these roles -- like, I did this Disney movie [Ready To Run] and it was like, there was this really wild guy, kind of very funny and quirky, and I went in for this straitlaced guy that they finally cut out of the movie, and gave me this other role. But I thought, "There's no way I could get this!" and those are the parts that I wind up with more than any other part that I think I'm "right" for. But those roles are a challenge, and a lot more fun -- you have a lot more to create.
CB: Did they tell you anything specific about Logan before you read for him? JD: We chatted a little bit, but I think Rob's pretty good about letting you do your thing first, because I don't want to go into an audition and somebody tells me all these notes before I've even done what I want to do -- it's maybe destabilizing, a little bit. So he didn't give me any notes, but as I said, it was all, "Fun, fun, fun, fun! You gotta like this!" And it's funny, people that are like Logan, they're dark and nasty and treat people badly, it's like, they do it because they like it. You can't ever think of a character as away from you, or think, "Oh, I don't like that," because then how are you gonna be that guy? CB: Yeah, and I think one of the lessons drilled into screenwriters is that no character can think of himself as bad or evil, that they have to be doing what they think is right. JD: Absolutely. And that can be a challenge -- sometimes I'll get a script in and think, "God, that seems so nasty!" And then it's like, finding a way to say those lines and color them in such a way that seems halfway decent. CB: Rob told me that when he was down to three guys for Logan, the first guy went in and read with Kristen, and afterward, she told Rob she didn't think he was intense enough. Rob's response was, "Wait 'til you see the guy," referring to you. You mentioned the monologue you used to get in character, but tell me a little more about what you were feeling when you went in. JD: Well, let's see. There were three scenes originally -- it was kind of funny, because one of them was the headlight-smashing scene. I was using a paper to "smash" out the "headlights," and Mark said that when we went in there, I shouldn't do the thing with the paper. I asked why not, and he was like, because these execs haven't read the script, and they won't know what you're doing. They'll be like, "Why is this kid swinging that fucking paper?" It was kind of a reality adjustment. Then in the second scene, Rob said he wanted someone who could play an asshole, but a guy who feels, too -- not just the asshole. Someone you could sympathize with, too. So we had a second scene with my dad burning me with a cigarette lighter. We did that, I guess, when we tested for the studio -- it was a pretty fucking cool scene...I loved it. It was pretty intense, and then the one we did was the scene where I drive up to Veronica. When we went in to test for the network, Rob said we weren't going to do that second scene because the guys would get a little freaked out or whatever.
CB: Yeah, I read the original pilot script, and Rob told me he originally intended it to be a cable show, so there was a lot of dark stuff in there that didn't make it to the network version. JD: Exactly. So yeah, it was intense. But I loved working with Kristen. Every test that we did, it was just like...just to look at her and bear down...it was great. CB: So what was working on a pilot like, as opposed to doing an episode of an established show? JD: So fucking exciting, man. My acting teacher told me a story about this one guy who couldn't get a job, but every time he would get close to a job, he would tell his friends and family, "I'm up for this thing," and then he wouldn't get it. So this one time my teacher told him not to tell anyone until he had a part, and he came back the week and he'd booked something. I took that advice with the pilot -- I'd tested for a bunch of things and never done anything. When I got it, then I told everybody, and it was just so fucking cool. And I think about it -- if I had missed that audition, how different my whole life would have been. CB: You had a much longer shooting schedule for the pilot than you do for a normal episode, right? JD: Yeah, totally. But I remember shooting pretty full days, still. I think maybe we took a lot more time on each scene. But I only had three or four scenes in the whole thing, so it wasn't particularly Logan-heavy or anything. CB: Did you hang out on the set when you weren't filming? See what the show was all about? JD: Well, I had a good idea -- but I wound up going back to L.A. in the middle of it to do that Cold Case episode. So I was really working, actually. But I studied Rico -- I love that guy. Working with good actors is so fun -- that's all I want to do. CB: A lot of readers probably aren't totally familiar with what it's like working on a TV show -- the process of filming, doing six or eight takes just to get one scene, stuff like that. Describe your typical workday. JD: It can be anything from one scene, which I did yesterday morning -- I worked from 6:30 in the morning to 8:30 or 9 AM on one scene, and then had the rest of the week off except for tomorrow. So it's a two-day work week, which is very different from Kristen's schedule -- [she] works fourteen hours a day, every day. It depends how many scenes you're in, but I like it when I get a whole day of scenes, because I get into a rhythm, you know? I remember in the episode with Anthony Anderson ["Lord Of The Bling"], I had all these scenes at my house, and it was great -- a couple of days shooting all day, every day, and it was so fucking fun! I really get into it. And you will do several takes, or sometimes you'll do -- that scene where Veronica and I are kissing and we come through the door and talk about my mother, my mother's urn that has sea water in it, that whole scene is one shot.
CB: Do you like long-take scenes better than short ones? Do you get into them more? JD: I guess I admire it more when we have long one-take scenes -- like, obviously, the famous scene in On The Waterfront with Brando at the club and all that stuff. It's all one take, and that's what's unbelievable to me, how many moments he gets into one scene. I just remember doing that scene with Kristen, and we finally printed it, and then we checked the camera and something was wrong with it, so we had to do the whole thing over. CB: Oh, man! "The gate is no good!" JD: Yeah, exactly! There was a hair on the gate. So we had to do it all over again. But I like those scenes -- they're a cool challenge. That movie with Robert Redford, All The President's Men, he has a six-and-a-half minute scene all on him. He said a cool thing -- we were up at Sundance and he screened it for all the people that were there, and someone in the audience asked how he did a scene like that. He said instead of worrying about it, he looked at it just as something cool to do, a cool exercise. I try to think the same way. CB: Now as you know, in the pilot Veronica refers to Logan as the "obligatory psychotic jackass." JD: [laughing] Yeah, you guys took advantage of that. CB: Heh. How would you describe Logan back then? JD: He just...enjoys being evil and putting people down. To be honest, I didn't know for the first couple episodes exactly why he was pissed off with Veronica, but he was just that kind of guy that does that to people in general. And then the backstory developed, and it was like, "Okay, cool, I see why that is." CB: It occurred to me before, when you were saying that you put a "having fun" spin on that monologue, it sounded like you played him as kind of a sadist. JD: Oh, totally. He's one of those people whose total operating basis is to put other people down, to bring other people down to his level so he feels okay with himself. CB: And how would you describe Logan now? Do you think he's changed much? JD: Yeah, I think so, man. I think it's almost more of a dulled-out apathy about things that have happened. Like, how could you even care at this point? If you tallied up everything bad that's happened to him and put it in a real person, you'd just be so fucked. Just living for today -- I don't know what the fuck you would do. You just go on automatic and wait for something to happen.
CB: At the beginning of the show, a lot of people had a very negative opinion of your character. ["Some of us still loathe Logan and always will. Hi!" -- Wing Chun] Now, your fan support is pretty tremendous. Did that turnaround surprise you? JD: It's kind of funny, because if you look at people in real life and think that they're mean or nasty, if you knew what got them there, all of a sudden you can have sympathy, and I think that's exactly what happened in "Return Of The Kane," where you see Logan's family situation. CB: Yeah, I think the belt scene was a definite turning point. JD: Yeah, isn't that amazing? But then it can go back and forth, which is great. I don't have one way or another that I want to play it, good or bad -- I think the more that you can keep it on the fence, the better. You can swing one way, and people think there's no way you're redeemable, but then you go the other way, and people feel for you. And that's what I think is cool about it -- do I root for him or not? But I think underneath it all, he's good. CB: I'd guess that's why so many fans find him appealing. Do you think it's also because in this secretive, noir show, he's kind of readable? The guy who's impulsive and sort of wears his heart on his sleeve? JD: Like that he's kind of vulnerable, in a way? Yeah. It makes him human and you can kind of relate to it, and I think people are basically good -- if someone's pure evil, that's not a part of me. I can't get that. But even if someone's evil, if they have a lot of -- this is kind of a weird concept -- intention, or a drive to do something, people can latch onto that as admirable. I think also -- [Jason's voice falls to a stage whisper] I stole this, too -- but like, I think Natalie Wood said that James Dean was always looking to understand. And I think that if you're looking to understand, it almost implies that you're not getting understanding. And the viewer sees that and is like, "Oh my God -- if someone just held him!" And the audience sees all the backstory, but the people in Logan's life don't see all that. The viewer wants to help that guy, but nobody else sees that. CB: If you wouldn't mind settling a question from the boards, even though it was never explicitly stated, were you under the impression and did you play the scene intending to convey that Logan and Dick burned the pool over the summer?
JD: Oh, yeah. CB: Because some of your character's stauncher defenders are all, "There's no proof! He never admitted it!" even though you kind of did, and at least you definitely didn't deny it. JD: Yeah, Logan did it. And I think that speaks to the general idea that Veronica and Logan can't be together until he reforms, because he does that stuff. Until he makes a major change, they can't really coexist in that kind of relationship. CB: Speaking of the posters, I understand that you were one of the people on the show who started reading TWoP early on. JD: I do, man! I do! I actually did, and I started to change my acting based on what I was reading! I was thinking of what people would like, but then I was like, "Fuck this," and I had to wean myself off it a little bit -- I noticed myself being too much of a sucker. Sometimes I almost wish people would say, "That's bullshit. I didn't believe that," because I know when I fuck up, and when someone tells me I did great work and I know that's not true, I just feel the worst I've ever felt in my life. CB: What exactly do you read on the site? JD: I read the recaps, and I like to read maybe the first couple of pages of what people think about certain episodes, what they liked or disliked. CB: Going back to Logan and Veronica, a lot of the fanbase wants to see them together. You mentioned what the obstacles to that happening are, but is it something you want to see? JD: Well, I think for acting's sake, I'd like it to go back and forth. It's the most dramatic. I love working with [Kristen], but the good scenes without the bad wouldn't be good. I like both, and I think we're on a pretty good path now. If that's how it ends up being written, I'll be thrilled, but on the other hand, I'm happy enough playing against her in the evil way -- it might even be more fun, because we're actually really liking each other underneath it all. The antagonistic scenes are great. CB: Another character you've had some memorable scenes with is Weevil. I know that you and Francis are good friends, and you two always seem really on in your scenes together -- do you guys try to one-up each other? JD: Yeah, I think there's definitely some one-upmanship going on. I don't know -- I think I get the better lines, so I think he just has to take it sometimes. CB: Going back to what you said about Kristen, you and Weevil can be so antagonistic, yet it seems like underneath you do like each other.
JD: Oh, totally. In Neptune, especially with the elite of the different groups, I think there's a mutual respect. Even in the fight scene, which I loved, you could feel it. But Francis is great, so when you do a scene with another guy and you're both trying to be the best actor you can...it's really who can be the most present. I was realizing that the other day -- if you can be aware of everything the other guy is doing, that makes you a better actor. If I can be aware of everything and understand it and be able to receive it, that makes for good acting, and if everyone's doing that, then the show is really alive. CB: Let's talk about Amanda Seyfried for a minute. JD: Dude, this girl is such a good actress. People have no idea how good she is. She has a freedom that's unbelievable -- there's no attention on herself whatsoever coming across. She's a scene-stealer, man! CB: Yeah. And even though you didn't have a lot of scenes together, your character's relationship with Lilly was one of the driving forces of the first season. The main opportunity you had to sell that was in "The Wrath Of Con." JD: Yeah, and it was cool, because she'll play, you know, with the champagne thing, and lots of other fun stuff. CB: Did you feel like you guys really sold the relationship? JD: Yeah! I mean, you find out later that she thought I was jealous, but we didn't know any of that shit until it came out in a later script. The flaws came out later, but I didn't know about them in the first several episodes, so I thought it was just a cool relationship. CB: I also felt that not only was the relationship between the two of you important, [but] the group dynamic between you two and Duncan and Veronica was [also] key, because it really showed what Veronica had lost socially, beyond just the fact of Lilly's death. JD: Wasn't the group dynamic awesome? I just fucking loved that. And I couldn't agree with you more -- like when we were all taking pictures of each other, and being on the beach together, and it was us four -- we were really a group, and when that went haywire -- it wasn't the same with just us three, no matter how much we may have wanted that. CB: Totally. Now, in the beginning of this season, Logan was sleeping with Kendall Casablancas. You did a couple a fairly steamy scenes together. Had you ever done a sex scene before?
JD: Yeah, actually, I did one at Sundance, when we did the Timothy McVeigh project ["it was accepted to the Sundance Writer's Lab 2005" -- CB]. It was all right -- you have fun with it for the present, and then it's...done. CB: Did working with someone a bit more seasoned [Charisma Carpenter plays Kendall] make it easier? Was it more relaxing in a way? JD: It was cool, but she had never done scenes like that before either. It was very funny that we'd be close to each other, and she'd be like, "How's your wife?" And I was like, "Oh, God." And then I'd ask about her husband. CB: Rob mentioned that he gave you some notice you'd be doing shirtless scenes, and that you hired a trainer. Did you bulk up a lot? JD: Well, I guess halfway through the first season, I started working out, but I'm not trying to get all crazy with it. But it's cool to be in shape, I guess. I'd lifted a little bit before, but I didn't really know quite how to do it -- it makes a huge difference. I learned how to get in shape without getting certain muscles too big that make you look like a meathead. But Charisma is so much more in shape than I am. And she's so damned tan, too. My Irish skin did not contrast well. CB: Another Buffy alum you've worked closely with on the show is Alyson Hannigan. Prior to her first appearance, she talked a lot in the press about how she was a huge fan of yours. Did you know about that at the time? JD: I think Rob mentioned that, probably to give me a little bit of confidence. CB: Did that make you excited to work with her? JD: Yeah, it was really cool, man. Plus, she just brought such a great sister element -- when she would play with me and bop me on the nose, stuff like that, I bought it when I saw it. I believed the brother-sister dynamic. CB: I thought she did a really good job in this last episode she was in. The first one, I thought maybe she was nervous. JD: Yeah, I remember, it was so cute! She was like, "I'm so nervous to be on the show for the first time," and I can totally understand that. CB: Now you and the rest of the cast, especially last year, were great about traveling a lot to promote the show. How did it feel when you guys got the payoff, so to speak, of the renewal? What did you all do to celebrate?
JD: It was so awesome, man. You know, I guess...the one thing I was sad about was that Kristen was working so hard, and it was like, here's another year of that, so it's kind of like...I don't know, my attention was with her. I hoped we could kind of...expand the show to other avenues, just for her sake. But we were in New York, and I think we all went out to dinner and just had a great time. I couldn't fucking believe it, man. It's such a pyramid -- how many pilots are written, how many are picked up to get made, how many are picked up to become shows, and then re-picked up for multiple seasons...you just have so few. CB: What are the road trips you take with the rest of the cast like? Any good stories? JD: Oh, boy. We went by the grassy knoll, which was rad...so amazing. We'd just go to like, these places where...our first one in Seattle, it was just unbelievable. We pulled up in like, two different Hummers, these girls were just screaming, and I don't even think they'd seen the show. It's like, I remember not being able to get the time of day from anyone, and all of a sudden you're on TV and it's way different. But it's cool when people understand what you're doing -- I love it when you guys post and you see the little things that we do. CB: What's it like having Rico [Colantoni] along on those trips? Is he like the dad of the group? JD: That's exactly right. He's just the total father and just...he so allows people to be who they are. It's so nice to be in his space and just talk to him. I don't know...he's so caring, so wants to know how you're doing. He's our only adult, really, but he's such a kid in some ways. I think he keeps it all under control and together, you know? CB: Awesome. Now, getting back to your character: we talked a little bit earlier on where his worldview is at the moment. You mentioned a sort of beaten-down apathy, and a lot of the posters have complained that so much bad stuff has happened to your character. In fact, on more than one occasion, it's seemed like Logan's entertained the thought of suicide. Do you think Logan now has a "me against the world" attitude? JD: I think...yeah, I would say that, to some degree, you know, because he doesn't think that anyone understands him. Because, like you said earlier, people think they're right. Nobody thinks this kid is right but him. I think Veronica understands certain reasons...certain of his backstory that's made him be the way he is. I think she's the only person, because it's like, who the fuck gets this guy, man?
CB: Yeah. So do you think Logan retains any optimism at this point? Or do you think something good is going to have to happen to him, something passive, before he gets to that point? JD: You know what? I don't think he's ever going to redeem himself, personally. I don't think he's going to make any drive to become better. If somebody were to step in and understand him, sit and listen to him, then I think he could come out of it, and I think that's where Veronica has the only power to do that, because he's not going to go, he's never going to admit, "Oh, I'm wrong, I want to change my ways," but with kindness and understanding, I think he could be brought to that realization. CB: One other point about your character that I mentioned earlier is that he's impulsive. Do you ever see him sort of learning to plan ahead and think before he talks, or do you think he'll always be kind of a hothead? JD: When I get the concept of the kind of character he is, I think he's going to say whatever's on his mind...impulsive behavior, less calculated to deceive somebody. I mean, he's good at scheming, I think -- that scene in the car with his dad in "Return Of The Kane" showed that. And he really understands people's feelings. He understands being the outcast -- he can understand anybody's situation, even though that might not be reflected in his actions. CB: Speaking of Logan's dad, what was your reaction when you heard that you were going to be working with Harry Hamlin? JD: You know, I guess L.A. Law was kind of before I started watching, you know, regular TV, so I didn't quite know who he was, exactly. But I told my parents, and they were like, "Unbelievable!" And I guess I had heard, but didn't really remember until recently, when that People magazine came out [and] he was "Sexiest Man [Alive]." But we never talk about anything outside of...we talk acting and stuff together, but I never ask about career stuff or anything. He's another very serious guy, but very nice. CB: Were you surprised by how much he brought to the show? JD: Yeah, man! I heard that it was some of his best work. But I gotta tell you, at one point I watched Clash Of The Titans, and I thought he was fucking awesome in that movie! For that role, he was so fucking vulnerable, heroic, and I think he was...his natural quality or dynamic, his innate character came through so much in that, I was like, "Dude, this guy is fucking awesome!" He was just...I don't even know how to explain that quality. He didn't know it, but he was willing to take that chance and do whatever was needed. He was a leader.
CB: So what episode are you shooting right now? JD: I think it's...yeah, it's 2-14. It's called "Versatile Toppings." CB: Is there anything you can tell me about the rest of the season? JD: Yeah! ["At this point Jason proceeds to tell me everything that's going to happen over the rest of the season. I'd let you in on all of it, except it's more fun not to." -- CB] CB: A running joke on the show is the inspirational messages Logan leaves on his voicemail. Is there any inspirational message you'd like to leave us with? JD: Oh, man. Just...you guys are great, and I really appreciate you watching the show. I was just thinking about what kind of effect you guys probably have, influencing people watching the show, and getting us to do better knowing that every little thing is watched...it causes a great boost with the cast to do better work, so I really appreciate what you guys do. And that's it! For being nervous, I think he did pretty fucking well.